Saint Vincent names D.P. Harris full-time athletic director

Saint Vincent ensured stability in its sports programs with the promotion of D.P. Harris to full-time athletic director.

Harris, who will continue as the men’s basketball coach, had served as interim AD for the past year.

SVC president Father Paul Taylor, O.S.B. called the move a “pivotal decision.”

“He has proven and substantial skills as a coach, mentor and administrator,” Taylor said of Harris. “We look forward to the athletics program’s continued growth and success in alignment with sportsmanship, excellence and our Benedictine values under his leadership.”

Harris, 53, is a Saint Vincent alum and a member of the college’s athletics hall of fame as a two-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year.

An assistant basketball coach in 1995, Harris became associate head coach in 2001 and has led Bearcats men’s basketball for 20 years, winning more than 70 percent of his games (392-159).

Saint Vincent has 23 varsity sports competing at the NCAA Division III level.

“I started out at Saint Vincent as a volunteer coach and occasional popcorn popper [at home games],” Harris said in a news release. “I have a simple philosophy: I am here to serve our student-athletes and work closely with our coaches and alumni to give our student-athletes and every young person who walks onto campus a true Bearcats experience.”

Crediting a pair of mentors in Oland “Dodo” Canterna and Father Myron Kirsch, O.S.B., for his growth in the athletics department, Harris has spearheaded key fundraising efforts around the Latrobe campus.

Canterna was an AD in addition to serving as a basketball and baseball coach at SVC. Kirsch was the Bearcats’ AD for more than 40 years before his retirement in April 2023.

Improvements and enhancements to sports facilities are a direct reflection of Harris’ roundup of donors.

The Dunlap Family Athletic and Recreation Center, for example, is a $22 million, 76,000-square-foot multipurpose building set for completion in November of 2025.

The indoor center will include a turf field, batting cages, a sport court, fitness center, exercise rooms and a cafe.

For the first time, night games were a possibility last fall in soccer and lacrosse thanks for new lights at UPMC Field.

Updates also were made to the baseball field and Carey Center, the latter receiving new bleachers.

Harris also gave athletics communications a boost with the addition of video equipment to enhance the school’s social media presence.

“We’ve made great strides in the past year,” Harris said. “Our social media and technology have taken a step forward, and the cooperation from our coaches and student-athletes has been excellent.”